1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an automatic vending machine for dispensing products equally from a plurality of columns.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Demand has arisen for selling products on the first-in, first-out (FIFO) basis in automatic vending machines. In particular, when products sold as cold or hot products are dispensed on the last-in, first-out (LIFO) basis, the products may not be sufficiently cooled or heated. Therefore, products are sold from automatic vending machines on the FIFO basis.
In a conventional automatic vending machine adopting the FIFO system, identical products at a single price are stored in a plurality of columns and are equally dispensed from the machine on the FIFO basis. In this type of automatic vending machine, the products are alternately dispensed from two columns or in rotation from a plurality of columns. However, when product numbers vary in the respective columns, products in a specific column may be sold out. A method is then adopted for dispensing the products in proportion to the product numbers of the respective columns. For example, when the products are dispensed from columns which store 100, 80 and 70 products, 10, 8 and 7 products are respectively dispensed from the columns.
In a conventional automatic vending machine selling cooled or heated products, a cooling or heating portion is located at the lower portion of the automatic vending machine so as to efficiently cool or heat the products near the dispensing port. In order to dispense the products in proportion to the product numbers of the respective columns, since 10, 8 and 7 products are dispensed from the first to third columns, the products dispensed from the first column are not sufficiently cooled or heated compared with the products dispensed from the second or third column, resulting in inconvenience.